Connecting the Real Estate Community

Author Archive

As a pioneer in online home valuations, and the company that had the first online home value calculator, HomeGain launched HPX (Home Price Express) in 2002. That was 9 years ago and the real estate industry has undergone quite a few changes since then. So have HomeGain’s online programs.

In October 2005, HPX went through a facelift and became Source4Sellers. Some of you who have been with us for a while will remember the program. Source4Sellers was, indeed, a program which connected sellers looking for a free home valuation to a real estate professional.

This was the strength of this program and all of HomeGain’s programs. Although many companies have produced a multitude of algorithms and methods of gathering property value information, there will never be a better and more accurate method of finding the current value of a home than having a qualified agent or appraiser determine the value.

As the market declined along with the value of homes, HomeGain realized that fewer and fewer homeowners were looking for home valuations. Most homeowners came to realize that their home had lost value, but many of them did not and do not want to find out how badly. As such, Source4Sellers did not deliver as many sellers as it had done in the past.

In August 2008, HomeGain launched the AgentView program. AgentView is, in the most literal sense, an online marketing program for real estate professionals. The program showcases agents’ listings and hosts a personal real estate blog for each subscriber in a completely exclusive zip code territory in an ad-free environment.

This is no doubt the case a large percentage of the time. However, it seems that recognizing a “good” lead has become clouded by the expectation that online leads are all “bogus”. By this, I mean that, in many cases, when an agent receives a new internet lead, they already feel that it is not worth the effort to follow up.

Is this simply a case of recognizing what constitutes a good lead? How much consumer information is needed for a lead to be considered “good”? In our estimation and in keeping with online consumers’ behavior, only minimal information is required or should be demanded or expected. Most online consumers do not want to work hard to get to where they want to go.

Whether this is accessing the MLS on your website or requesting assistance with their current real estate situation, most consumers do not want to be forced to divulge too much information until they feel comfortable doing so. If you come away with the consumer’s name and a valid email address through the consumer’s first experience with you or your web site, that is all you really need to get started turning them into a “good” prospect. Continue reading this post

A strategic default is when a homeowner walks away from their home when they owe more on the home than it is currently worth. In some circumstances, the homeowner can afford to make the mortgage payments, but due to the decreased value of the home under the current market conditions, they feel it is a financially sound maneuver simply to leave their home behind and rent or try to find another home which has also lost value.

Thousands of homeowners have strategically defaulted on their homes and have left the mortgage company holding the bag. The mortgage company now has an asset for which they do not have a revenue stream. Plus, the property is now a liability because the mortgage company is obligated to maintain the property so that adjacent homes do not further lose value.

Due to the enactment of new Fannie Mae regulations, a strategic default will now have more severe consequences for the homeowner than in the past. Continue reading this post

Ashton Gustafson, a Realtor with Bishop Realty Group in Texas, was recently presented with Realtor Magazine’s “30 Under 30″ award. This award is given out annually to 30 agents across the nation who are under the age of 30.

At age 27, Ashton has five years of experience under his belt and is now a partner with Bishop Realty Group. In 2009, Ashton and his team closed over 200 transactions. For 2010, Ashton hopes the total number of closings will reach 300. He is aiming to close 100 of those transactions personally.

As a 4th generation Realtor, Ashton attributes much of his success to the guidance and mentorship of his grandparents who taught him the value of a strong work ethic.

Listen to this exclusive call with Ashton as he explains how that work ethic, combined with HomeGain’s AgentView program, has allowed him to build a successful business.

The HomeGain Advisors met for their quarterly meeting last week on Thursday, April 22nd. The Advisors represent top real estate agents across the country who provide insight into HomeGain products and services, market trends and Realtor behavior.

We had several interesting discussions with our Advisors Group last week that are worth sharing with our Blog readers — about market conditions, overcoming issues created by appraisers, and whether there may be implications from either terminating or extending the first time buyer tax credit .

Market Conditions

Agent Advisors in Massachusetts and Maryland reported that the market (and business) is good. Maryland foreclosures and short sales are drying up. Colorado is seeing an uptick — although there are still a lot of foreclosures, there are less short sales.

Arizona and Florida real estate agents reported the market continues to decline, with lots of foreclosures and people still defaulting. In Florida, it was reported the real estate market has 40% short sales — and one agent commented that he had only 4,968 listings vs. over 8,000 at the same time in previous years.

Recent Comments

HomeGain Real Estate Blog is a publishing tool for posting real
estate opinions, news, data, ideas, and information. Real estate agents and
brokers can find new blog posts daily and subscribe to receive an email based
blog newsletter. Blog article categories include Realtor® best practices,
strategies for reaching home buyers and sellers, web site and online marketing
tactics, social media, real estate technology, real estate trade shows, MLS,
real estate market trends and HomeGain. The opinions expressed by the bloggers
and those providing comments are theirs alone and may not reflect the views or
opinions of HomeGain. HomeGain is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the
information supplied by the bloggers or those who comment.